The Christmas Party
by notjustink
Summary: self-explanatory; I felt like writing something different. Yay for variety.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is dedicated to my friend Nisha-- Happy 14th!**

**Happy holidays everyone!**

Max POV

I was starting to regret my decision- but I guess the bambi eyes would have made me say yes anyway. We -the flock- were going to a Christmas Party tomorrow night, since, and I'm quoting Nudge, "We barely ever get to have any real fun, and plus, this party will have great, free food,…" she kept going, but after the guys agreed, it was pretty much a done deal. I shook my head, and let the stiff curtain fall back to cover the window. Let the torture begin.

I walked back out to the hotel room's living room, and sat down on the floor next to the couch. It was one of the huge, wrap-a-round ones that have built in recliners.

"Max, can we watch a movie?" asked Angel.

"Sure Ange." I replied back, feeling too tired to actually care what we watched. They scrolled through the movies, occasionally stopping to read about one. We finally decided on _Home Alone_, with a little blond kid who kinda reminded me of Gazzy. Except for the fact that you know, this kid actually had a home. I leaned forward punching the pillow behind me into a more comfy shape, so that my bangs covered my eyes, which were starting to get slightly wet. Dammit.

I shook my head, and focused on the movie. The kid was wearing only a towel, okay, what was this thing rated? Then he rubbed something on his palms, and put it on his face. Then, accordingly, he screamed bloody murder. I busted out laughing, as did the rest of the flock.

Nudge and Angel leaned against each other for support, whereas Iggy was clutching his stomach and Gazzy was rolling around on the floor.

Fang murmured, "Death…by…aftershave…," and gasped between each word due to lack of breath.

Total was rolling around on a pillow, when he fell off the couch, and we all started laughing even harder; Fang's laugh was now a hearty chuckle, as opposed to a silent laugh type thing.

*

After the movie finished, I got up, feeling my joints crack and gathered Angel and Total into my arms. I started rubbing Nudge's back, waking her enough so she could walk into her bedroom. I saw Fang stretching, and moving towards Iggy. I tucked in Angel and Nudge, pulling the covers up to their chins. Hopefully they wouldn't be super- energetic for shopping tomorrow. I smiled devilishly as I shut the door quietly.

I saw Fang coming out of the boys' room, and we made our way silently back to the living room area. I claimed a recliner, curling up into a ball in it, with Fang a seat away doing the same exact thing. Just in a manlier way, I guess, since guys don't 'curl up into balls.'

After thirty minutes of boring commercials and a bald guy screaming, "I want the gold plunger!" we decided to call it a night. We stacked fists, and started drifting when I heard music-- classical music. I opened my eyes, and found Fang's at half- mast looking back at me. His eyes opened further, as he recognized I was actually awake. Our noses were a few inches away from each other, but our fingers were practically touching. Wordlessly, we got up, and Fang offered me his hand. I curtsied, and took it lightly. He placed my hands on his shoulders-- were they this broad before? And put his hands on my waist; I noticed that he was barely resting them on me; I guess he didn't want to put them to low.

We moved in time to the music, letting it guide our movements. Every once in awhile, he would twirl me, and I would feel like a little girl all over again. Well, a little girl with wings, but still. As the song ended, I rested my head on his shoulder, and we just stayed in that position, taking in everything. The way he smelled like the woods and sweat. The way our bodies moved together like old friends. The way his breaths on my skin made me go into an electric coma.

I bolted upright in the recliner, my blanket tangled around me. It was a dream. A dream. A fantasy. Fiction. As in no-way-in-hell-could-it-possibly-ever-happen.

"Ugh!" I stated, forgetting that Fang was right there. He turned toward me, his expression quizzical.

"Sorry," I murmured, flopping back over to look at the clock. It was 5 in the morning--I still had an hour left. So, I let my eyes fall prey to the tears that welled up and streaked down my face.

An hour later, I got up and put on a fresh Hanes shirt. Then I walked around and woke everyone up. Nudge and Angel woke up ecstatic, whereas the guys looked like they'd rather be introduced to Omega. In fifteen minutes, we headed out to the mall for clothes for the party. Nudge and Angel dragged everyone into Macy's, where we started the hunt. Angel got a white dress that had pearl buttons down the back, and Nudge bought a sleek purple dress that had sequins in little flaps that swayed when she moved. As for yours truly, I tried getting the first dress I chose, but since I've become Guinea Pig Barbie, they were experimenting my 'body type' with different dresses; plus, the perky saleswoman said I have a 'gorgeous hour-glass figure.' Then she continued waggling her eyebrows in the direction of Iggy and Fang. Angel was laughing her wings off as she 'told' the woman to leave. In the end I chose a navy blue dress that has a corset type thing around my chest and waist. It hugged me, but I could still move in it, so I just went along with the whole ordeal. The guys all got dress shirts and pants; Iggy's shirt was silver, Gazzy's was a powder blue, and Fang's was black. Obviously.

Just as I started walking out of the store, I felt two sets of hands drag me back in.

"Hey! Yo! What the crap! Guys, come on! Seriously…" I gave in as Nudge and Angel cornered everyone in the shoe section. The guys all got shiny black dress shoes, whereas the girls took longer.

"Okay, so Angel, what do you think? Dark purple or lilac…Or oooohh, these sparkly pink flats! Mmmmf…" Gazzy put his hand over her mouth, leaning against Iggy, exhausted.

"I like the pink ones." Angel replied politely. Meanwhile, I was trying to find my size in sneakers.

"Max! Bad, put the sneakers down now!" Nudge yelled at me, walking over.

"But…" I stated, as I looked back longingly.

"You are getting heels and you are going to like it." She said forcefully, poking me in the arm. Angel came over with a few boxes. Then she pulled back the tissue paper to reveal some silver stilettos.

"No freaking way." I said. "Next pair."

"At least try them on." She begged.

"No." I said. Angel's eyes glazed over and I found myself putting on the shoe. Dang it. I stood up, and fell back down onto the seat.

"Walk with your toe first." Nudge stated. Since when did she learn this? I mean you can't exactly do a roundhouse kick in pumps. I stood back up, and tried it; it worked. After a few glances in the mirror, I sighed, defeated.

"Fine," I grumbled. Nudge and Angel gleefully skipped to the cashier, while the rest of us followed like robots.

"Will that be all?" the clerk asked me, his blue eyes incredibly vivid behind his brown bangs.

"Yes," I replied, shaking my head to regain composure.

"That'll be $142.32." he stated. I gave him my credit card.

_Angel, I wish you hadn't made me get those shoes. I'm going to kill myself wearing them_. I thought to her.

_Max, I know you liked the way you looked in the mirror, just enjoy this, _she stated, pleased with her evidence.

The guy handed me my bags, and our fingers touched in that moment. I could feel a blush coming, so I said 'thanks,' and power- walked out of the store with everyone following me. _Very_ subtle. Angel was giggling next to me, whereas Fang remained impassive. I sighed, and headed out of the mall.

**Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

Nudge and Angel were doing God-knows-what to me--I could feel my eyelids getting heavier, and my hair was being pulled at all angles. I was starting to fidget like crazy, and I heard Nudge telling Angel, 'hand me this,' or just making clucking noises with her tongue. It was starting to bug the crap out of me.

"Okay…almost…there. OMG Max, you look soooooo gorgeous. Isn't it amazing what a little mascara can do? I mean, at first I really wanted to put some eye shadow on you, but…," Nudge rambled on in the background. To be honest, I was too shocked at the girl staring back at me from the mirror. My hair was in big loopy curls, and my lashes were dark and separated.

"Oh crap, we have five minutes until we need to leave!" Nudge exclaimed, running out of the room, Angel in tow. I snapped out of the trance, and grabbed the bag holding my dress and heels, and started pulling my dress on. I tried zipping it up, but the zipper ran down my spine, and I couldn't grab it.

"Nudge? Angel? I need help." I hollered into the hallway. I stood there in the doorway for a little while, noting the fridge door was open. But no one was there.

"Fang, can you help me?" I asked, walking over. He reappeared, wiping some milk off his mouth with his tanned forearm. He was already dressed, with a slim white tie accenting his black attire. I turned, and pointed to the zipper. He set the carton down, and I pulled my wings in as tightly as I could. He slowly pulled up the zipper.

"Thanks," I stated, pulling my hair out of the top of the dress. The loops bounced when I walked, and I have to admit, I liked it.

"No problem," he murmured. He walked over to Gazzy and Iggy, who were sitting on the couch, obviously rethinking if food was worth all of this. I sat down on a chair, and put on my stilettos; they were four inches high! Four fricking inches of silver strappy death!

"Angel! Nudge! Are you two ready?" I yelled down the hallway. Angel skipped down the hallway, her dress looking down- right adorable on her. She skipped right up to me, and grabbed my hand sweetly. Her big blue eyes looked up at me, and she smiled. I smiled back, and looked at the now- approaching Nudge. Her hair was straight, and she had put something shiny on her lips. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she replied sheepishly," For the guys."

"Oh." I said. Wow. I should become a dictator or something, with my recently eloquent speeches.

"But don't worry Max, I got you a tube too. This is really cool, it's edible." she said. Then she jumped me. Before I knew it, my lips were slick and tasted delicious…like…strawberries? Nudge grinned, triumphant.

"Fine," I grumbled,"But Nudge, don't attack me again, okay?" Girl's going to give me whiplash someday. She just grinned, and pranced out the doorway. Typical. We found the hotel address, and started toward the ballroom. My feet were already starting to hurt-how was I supposed to deal with this for the next three hours?!?

The chipmunk Christmas song came on, and I just _knew_, that this was going to bite me in the butt later. Gazzy started imitating their voices, and Nudge and Angel started dancing to Jingle Bell Rock. Iggy rubbed his palms together, and walked over to some girls who were talking on the side. He struck up a conversation, and they started giggling. I sighed, and flipped my bangs out of my eyes.

"Do I know you?" a voice behind me asked. I spun around, my body tense. It was the guy from before, the one at Macy's. His hair was slightly gelled, and it looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. I looked into his eyes, and finally realized that he was incredibly cute.

"Um, yeah…" I said. Fang smirked next to me; I elbowed him in his side. A slow song came on, and the guy held out his hand. I took it, waiting for Jeb to pop out of nowhere and attack me. He didn't so I let myself be led onto the dance floor.

"I'm Henry." he said, placing my hands on his shoulders, and putting his own on my waist. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and swayed in time to the music.

"I'm Max." I replied, making the mistake of looking into his eyes…his gorgeous, mesmerizing, depthless eyes. Wow. Isn't Fang supposed to be the poet? Wait, where is Fang? I looked over to see him talking to the girls along with Iggy.

"Are you here on vacation or …?" Henry asked.

"Vacation, we just felt like going somewhere different." I said.

"I understand. My parents are always keeping me busy, sometimes I just want to get away from it all." he said, looking down at me.

"Yeah…" I replied. The song ended, and we parted. He grabbed my hand, brought it up to his mouth, and kissed it gently; I nearly swooned. Instead, I muttered a 'see you,' and walked over to Nudge and Angel, my face a deep crimson. Damn hormones.

The other teenagers started forming a big circle of people, who were writhing around like fish. I was pushed into it, and started feeling claustrophobic.

"What is this?" I asked to the girl next to me, who looked excited.

"The snowball!" she giggled.

"Which is?" I asked again.

"It's where the adults choose a few random people to slow dance, and switch partners every song, it's really fun!" she stated, bouncing in time to the music. A few guys were walking around, obviously supposed to be the 'adults.' Someone grabbed my hand, and I was pulled through the mob into the clearing. I stumbled into the guy holding my hand, and he looked down at me nervously.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked.

"Sure," I stated, feeling optimistic tonight. The guy had blond hair, and I could tell that he would be classified as a 'brain.' We didn't talk at all, and just as I though the awkwardness would never stop, we broke apart. Apparently now I got to choose a new partner. Great… The first person I saw was Fang, so I grabbed him.

"Hey Fang, dance with me?" I asked. He just wrapped his arms around my waist, and I leaned into him, comfortable.

"You're warm," I mumbled pathetically. He smirked. I scowled.

"You…uh…smell like strawberries." he said, looking down. I looked up at him, and if it was some other guy, I would've said he was blushing. But it was Fang, and Fang doesn't blush.

"Thanks…so, all-in-all, this night's actually pretty fun," I said, glancing around. Nudge and Angel were giggling on the side, and Iggy was still flirting with the girls. Gazzy was over at the buffet table eating a hot dog, figures.

"Yeah…" Fang replied, as the doors to the ballroom burst open. Erasers poured into the room, like huge, ugly wasps, and Fang and I broke apart into fighting stance.

"They can't just give us one night, can they!" I yelled at Fang over the screams of the other party- goers who were currently running out the doors.

"I didn't want you to get bored," said a snarling voice behind me. I spun around to face Ari.

"Your whole 'appear behind me' thing is getting kind of old, Ari, don't 'cha think?" I stated. He lunged for my throat, but I spun, and kicked him in his back as he stumbled past me. This was going to be way too easy.

While Ari was catching his breath, I saw Angel dunking three Erasers' heads into the punch bowl, only for them to be electrocuted and drop to the floor. Nudge was taking on five Erasers with Gazzy, and Iggy was throwing bombs left and right. The rest of the Erasers were surrounding me and Fang, making us bump into each other's backs.

"One," he said, and we both leapt into the air. He grabbed my arm, and spun me around in an arc. I kicked my feet, and knocked out a good few Erasers. Gotta love stilettos.

I started pummeling away at whatever came at me, and started making progress. I glanced to my left a little too late, and was knocked to the ground by Ari.

"I like this look on you," he said, grazing his left hand along my corset. I tried punching him, put he held down my arms. My legs were useless, flailing around uselessly. Fang broke free of his group, and Gazzy quickly threw a bomb at the few remaining Erasers. Ari was knocked off of me by Fang, and Iggy pulled me up.

Fang was beating Ari senseless on the ground. The coward wasn't even trying to fight back, just protect himself.

"If…you…ever…touch her…again…I…will…kill…you." Fang yelled, his eyes burning with anger, hatred, and something else I couldn't realize. Ari got up, and ran out of the room, trying to make us regret doing that. Yeah right.

"Come on, man," Iggy murmured to Fang, who was still on the ground, shaking with silent rage. He let out a shaky breath, and stood up on the balls of his heels. Angel walked over, and hugged his leg. He patted her curls, and we took off to the hotel. We all grabbed our stuff, and changed quickly.

*

I let the chilly wind ruffle my secondary feathers, and started descending towards a dark hill outlined by the setting sun. I touched down, and started setting up camp. I let Iggy and Gazzy start the fire. Who needs flint, when you've got two pyromaniacs? I passed the 'borrowed' hot dogs around, and started grilling mine. With a full stomach, and six snoring people around me, I took my watch, as the last rays of sun disappeared.

**Okay, so this was supposed to be a one-shot, but it ended up having two chapters. I don't know how one-shots usually work, this being my first, so…umm…yeah. I hope you enjoyed it. **

**Happy New Year!**

**2009!**


	3. Silly mistakes

**Wow, I used uselessly twice in the same sentence. I'm creative. LOL**

**Happy New Year.**


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